Fenerbahçe vs. Anderlecht: Match Preview

Fenerbahçe will host Belgium’s Anderlecht on Thursday, February 13, in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 playoff. The match will take place at Ülker Stadium and kick off at 8:45 pm. Montenegrin referee Nikola Dabanovic will officiate the match, with Vladan Todorovic and Srdjan Jovanovic serving as his assistants. Milos Boskovic will be the fourth official for the match.

The VAR will be operated by Pascal Müller from Germany, with Robert Schröder as AVAR from the same country.

The yellow-and-blue team will try to gain an advantage before the return leg in Belgium on February 20 by securing a victory.

FENERBAHÇE VS. ANDERLECHT

Match: Fenerbahçe vs Anderlecht
Date: Thursday, February 13, 2025
Kick-off time: 8:45 pm (local time)
Venue: Ülker Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
Referee: Nikola Dabanovic (Montenegro)
Assistants: Vladan Todorovic, Srdjan Jovanovic
Fourth Official: Milos Boskovic
VAR: Pascal Müller (Germany)
AVAR: Robert Schröder (Germany)

Fenerbahçe will host Anderlecht in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 playoff, with the return leg scheduled for February 20, 2025, in Belgium.

PLAY-OFF PATH

Fenerbahçe faced several challenging teams during the group stage of Europe’s most prestigious second-tier club competition.

They played against Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), Twente (Netherlands), Manchester United (England), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), Athletic Bilbao (Spain), Olympique Lyon (France), and Midtjylland (Denmark), earning 2 wins, 2 losses, and 4 draws, with a total of 10 points. They finished 24th and secured the right to play in the playoffs.

In comparison, Anderlecht, the visiting team, faced Ferencvaros (Hungary), Real Sociedad (Spain), Ludogorets (Bulgaria), Rigas Skola (Latvia), Porto (Portugal), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic), and Hoffenheim (Germany). They earned 4 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, accumulating 14 points, and finished 10th.

5 ABSENCES

Fenerbahçe will be without five players for the match against Anderlecht.

Due to injuries, İsmail Yüksek, Çağlar Söyüncü, Diego Carlos and Alexander Djiku will miss this important game.

In addition, goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who has recovered from injury but is not yet fully fit, is also not expected to play in the match.

UEFA SQUAD

Fenerbahçe’s UEFA Europa League squad is as follows:

Dominik Livakovic, İrfan Can Eğribayat, Ertuğrul Çetin, Çağlar Söyüncü, Alexander Djiku, Mert Müldür, Milan Skriniar, İsmail Yüksek, Mert Hakan Yandaş, Fred, İrfan Can Kahveci, Sofyan Amrabat, Sebastian Szymanski, Anderson Talisca, Filip Kostic, Dusan Tadic, Edin Dzeko, Youssef En-Nesyri, Cengiz Ünder, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Allan Saint-Maximin, Cenk Tosun.